This is coming three months after Mastercard invested $100m
in the company’s mobile money business.
According to a statement released by the company on Friday,
the proceeds of the investment will be used to reduce its debt and invest in
network and sales infrastructure across its operating countries.
Qatar Holding LLC is an affiliate of the Qatar Investment
Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar with over $300bn in
assets. The Middle Eastern corporation is set to invest $200m into Airtel by
buying secondary purchases of shares from Airtel Africa.
The Chief Executive Officer, QIA, Mansoor Al-Mahmoud, said
“The sovereign’s wealth fund investment in Airtel Africa would help promote
financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Airtel Money plays a critical role in facilitating economic
activity, including for customers without access to traditional financial
services. We firmly believe in its mission to expand these efforts over the
coming years.”
The CEO, Airtel Africa, Raghunath Mandava, said the company
was pleased to welcome QIA as a prospective investor in its mobile money
business, joining both Mastercard and TPG’s The Rise Fund as a further partner
“to help realise the full potential from the substantial opportunity to bank
the unbanked across Africa”.
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